This team needs a center. Dirk Nowitzki remains a very safe and reliable first round pick, but he lost his center eligibility years ago, his defensive stats have been in decline. Plus, although he picked it up at the end of the year, overall his three-point shooting is not enough of an impact to negate the lack of blocks and relative lack of rebounds. Baron Davis and Paul Pierce represent an exciting and formidable fantasy back-court. That next level tier of guards comes up in the fifth and sixth rounds, so it is a green light to go big here.

Currently this guy has an average draft position of 49.0 on Yahoo, so we tab him a bit earlier than that here at 42nd overall.

Round 4, Pick 6: Chris Kaman, C, Los Angeles Clippers

The Fig Cap: Hey Dirk, we get to roll together on this team just like Team Germany!

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The talent pool must not have gone shallow yet if 20 point-per-game Olympians remain available in the fourth round. Adding this player to a team that has Dirk Nowitzki would have made for very sound strategy, but Dirk’s team picks next. On this particular team, he fills a glaring need.

I think that Bryan Colangelo has done an excellent job in reshaping the Raptors and bringing back respectability to the organization. Colangelo was fortunate in his first year as Raptors’ GM to land the first overall pick in the 2006 draft. We know that Andrea Bargnani was selected by the Raptors. In the same draft, Brandon Roy was originally selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves and traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Randy Foye. Bargnani’s NBA career has had its up and downs and still continues to evolve. I know hindsight is twenty-twenty but what if Roy had been selected by the Raptors instead of Bargnani? It would be Roy patrolling the two spot instead of Anthony Parker. Brandon Roy and Chris Bosh would have been an excellent tandem. Oh well, it’s nice to dream.

Brandon Roy is the face of the new Portland Trail Blazers as they emerge out of the “Jail Blazers” era. Roy is the centerpiece of a young nucleus which includes LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden in Portland. Fantasy owners loved the steady production of Brandon “The Natural” Roy over his two years in the pros. Could the third year be the charm?

The first preseason game for the Washington Wizards did not go as planned. Not only is Gilbert Arenas slated to miss some crucial time, but injuries to forward Antawn Jamison and center Brendan Haywood added a little salt in the wound. News today says that Jamison only has a bruised knee and should be good to go. Haywood, however, is looking to miss the next four-to-six months with wrist surgery.

“He’s really big for us back there in terms of communicating to the other guys about what is going on and where we need to be, so that’s going to be missed,” Jamison said. “We’re going to have to find a way for other guys to fill that role.”

Everyone who has ever played ball, at any level, knows the universal tell for being gassed is a guy bent over, tugging on his shorts. The vultures circle Jason Kidd this year, after he did not lead the Dallas Mavericks to any success in the playoffs, and while he played as the starter on the United States basketball team, from what I saw and heard, both Chris Paul and Deron Williams outplayed him and were used more down the stretch in games. Should Jason Kidd prepare to ride into the sunset on a hall-of-fame career?

Once a surefire first-rounder, the strengths and weaknesses in his game have established themselves for many years now. The question remains, has he slipped far enough in drafts that he now becomes very good value?

I know he will play for the Houston Rockets this year, but I had not come across this picture before prepping for this article and just had to use it. It was a long time ago, but my hometown Raptors passed on you twice in the draft for two dudes named Jonathan Bender (used in a trade for Antonio Davis) and some guy named Alek Redojevic (?spelling). Chicago drafted Artest with the 16th pick in the draft in 1999.

The Houston Rockets need to rid themselves of the monkey on their back that is exiting the first round of the playoffs. If, and it’s a big if, the team can stay healthy enough to become a cohesive unit, they can certainly earn a high seed in the West. This guy would stand to be the difference maker.

Through three rounds of a head to head draft, having these three guys from the 12 spot. Time to press the advantage in scoring, and this guy might be the best scorer left out there. Plus he provides in bundles what this team still needs lots of…three-pointers.

Round 4, Pick 1, Kevin Martin, SG, Sacramento Kings

The Fig Cap: With the Tru Warier gone, K-Mart is open 24-7! Give me the rock!

With the 12th and 13th picks in the draft, this team secured Dwyane Wade and Al Jefferson. Strengths of this pairing include scoring in particular, as well as the fact that between the two of them, the major categories have been addressed decently to start, with the exception of three-pointers. Wade is eligible at point guard while Al Jeff can play center, so there is no need to worry about positional issues.

This sounds like a good chance to draft a player who can 1) pad the stats Wade and Al Jeff are good at and 2) start to address three-pointers.

Overrated or underrated? Is it possible for a top five scorer in the league to be underrated? Though their games differ greatly, ‘Melo splits the fantasy nation into two camps similar to how Dwight Howard does. One camp sees the warts, the other sees the aspects of the game to push an advantage.

After the jump, let us see if this Olympian power forward has the game to help your team out this year win the gold.

The Rob Babcock era was a very painful time for Raptor fans. His drafting woes were highlighted by fellow writer Alvin, with the team taking a pass on Danny Granger twice in the 2005 NBA draft. What about the gaffe from the previous draft in which Babcock drafted Rafael Araujo before Andre Iguodala! Rafael Araujo is now manning the middle for Spartak St. Petersburg of the Russian Basketball Super League. Aggghhhh!

This season there is a lot of hype in Philadelphia around the 76ers, as they signed the much-conveted free agent Elton Brand. Let’s see what effect Elton Brand will have on Iggy’s numbers.